PortAventura: General Discussion

I'm not defending PortAventura in any case. I would rather any park not remove a ride unless necessary. And I wish it had just been relocated either somewhere else in China or re-themed elsewhere in the park as it was one of my favourite rides as a child. But as you can see from this image I've found. The ride took up a large footprint which is slap bang in the middle of where the new Shambhala entrance is, with only a metre gap of queue line adjacent to the Dragon Khan perimeter. Again if you look on maps you can vaguely see the octagon shaped base from before.

It is a petty argument but it's lockdown and I've got nothing else to do so I'm happy to ramble on.
Photo:
https://images.app.goo.gl/4WpUvNgpjrzKchVg8
Maps:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/zXNy6dcK3FVXVyGA7

 

And as I’ve pointed out, there is scrub land either side of that pathway, in the areas currently walled off. All that would be needed is for the pathway to be widened and the walls moved and it would then be possible to divert the pathway around it.

Another option would be to have moved the ride a few feet forwards, which is exactly what Alton did with their wave swinger when Rita was installed.

The reason I used the Phantasialand example is because, if you look on Google Maps, at their wave swinger, you’ll see that this comfortably fits into a small space and foot traffic can be diverted either side of the ride, they even managed to squeeze in fountains either side of the ride.

PortAventura are not limited on space in any way. The ride could have stayed if space was the only issue. As we have both speculated, the reason for the ride’s removal is far more likely to have been for other reasons.

 

I think we're going to have to agree to disagree, the only way to get around the ride would be to either walk through the toilet block or walk into Dragon Khan's ride area. I can only assume when a park is building a new iconic £20 million coaster, they dont want you squeezing behind a swinging chairs to get to the entrance. The work above would have cost way more than just removing the ride.

 

So when you say “a park”, does this mean that you think Alton Towers were the exception when they moved Ug Swinger a few yards to the left to make way for Rita?

Anyway, I’m not that fussed, I only went on it a few times and I never saw much of a queue for it.

One thing that really does surprise me on the subject of flat rides is that the one opposite Tomahawk is still there. The Serpentine flat ride in the Mexico area also seems somewhat dated. I think that flat rides is one area where PA do need to look at having a bit of an overhaul.

 

Well the Alton Towers version Ug Swinger / Twirling Toadstool was just sat on top of the ground with the steps up to the ride, where as PortAventura's was built into the ground.

Volpaiute in its current form is useless as it never runs at its full intended speed, making it pretty pointless and never has a queue.

As for Serpiente Emplumada, that always proves to be pretty popular and normally has a queue, it's also one of the most thrilling flats in the park.

I would like to see some more thrill flats added to PortAventura Park in the coming years such as a Maelstrom ride type (don't know what they're called) as all the flats added to the parks over the latter years have been kids versions.

 

It would have been too tight of a squeeze to fit in the Shambhala area entrance and Fumanchú in the same space. Fumanchú would have been in the way of the new path. There's not enough land either side for adequate space, on the left you would need to demolish the locker/shelter area, and to the right is Dragon Khan so that's no use. For a wave swinger it took up a large footprint and there was a cattle pen where the lockers now reside.

Clearly with Shambhala the aim was to have a grand central arch that draws you in. A wave swinger in front of that kind of ruins the aesthetic.

It was a 17 year old ride and not that popular in its later years (apart from the PA fan following), probably easier and cheaper in the end to scrap it. I think it's a shame it didn't get relocated.

PA could do with more flats, although I would rather see another dark ride first!

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This took me for a ride on the chunder bus, straight afterwards. I did have a fair bit of Estrella and all inclusive before hand though.

 

It's the one ride at PortAventura I've never been on, it makes me want to vom just looking at it.

 

I don't do well with spinning. I stupidly went on an EXTREME at a fair in Chester once and i blacked out twice. Never again.

 

"You want to ride the Breakdance? Please, do wait 15 minutes whilst I nip to the toilet before returning to operate".

"Oh, and let me give you an appallingly short cycle which does very little".

 

I’d like, more than anything, to see PortAventura buy Slammer and bring it back to life.

 

Port Aventura doesn’t have the worst flat ride selection for a major park (*glares at Towers*), but it doesn’t have the best either.

Some are definitely better than others. I liked the sombrero ride and the Serpent attraction was fun, but most were mediocre at best. The break dance was disappointing when I went.

With a park/resort full of so many attractions, a couple of newer flat rides wouldn’t go a miss. Something like Loke at Liseberg and/or Talocan would be good candidates IMO.

Ferrari Land aside, I get the impression they haven’t added a major new flat ride for some time now.

 

The way their run their flat rides I am sure they'd send it up the tower, wait 30 seconds and then bring it back down.

(which is admittedly more than Thorpe do with it ... )